Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

It is narrated from Hazrat Muhammad bin Suqah, he says: I came to Hazrat Naeem bin Abi Hind, so he took out a scroll and showed it to me. In it was written: From Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Muadh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) to Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). Peace be upon you. To proceed! We advise you. The matter of your own self is very important for you. You are in such a state that you have been given authority over the red and white of this Ummah. The noble and the lowly sit before you, and friends and enemies sit before you. And everyone gets his share in justice. O Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)! So see how you are at this time? Because we warn you of that day when faces will be humbled and hearts will have dried up, and on that day arguments will be cut off. There will be a King who will prevail over people due to His might, and the creation will be humbled before Him. They will be hoping for the mercy of their Lord and fearing His punishment. And it used to be told to us that the matter of the end of this Ummah will return in such a way that they will be openly brothers and secretly enemies. And we seek refuge with Allah that this letter of ours to you descends anywhere other than the place from which it descended from our hearts. Because we have written to you only out of goodwill. And peace be upon you.

Then Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to both of them: From Umar bin Khattab to Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Muadh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him). Peace be upon you both. To proceed! You have written a letter to me and reminded me that you are advising me and that the matter of my own self is very important for me, and that I am in such a state that I have been given authority over the red and black of this Ummah. The noble and the lowly sit before me, and friends and enemies sit before me. And everyone has a share in it. And you have also written to me: O Umar! Take care of how you are at this time? At such a time, Umar has no support except the power and strength of Allah. And you have written to me warning me of that which the previous nations were warned of. And from ancient times it has been the custom that the alternation of night and day brings every era near and wears out every new thing, and brings every promised thing to presence, until people return to their abodes in Paradise or Hell. And you have also reminded me by writing that it used to be told to you that the matter of this Ummah in the end times will return to such a state that they will be outwardly brothers and secretly enemies, but you are not like that, and this is not that time. That will be the time in which fear and desire will be apparent. Some people’s desire for others will be for the improvement of their worldly affairs, and some people will fear others. You have written this letter to me and advised me in the name of Allah that this letter descends in the same place from which it descended from your hearts. You have written this letter, and you have written the truth. So do not stop writing letters to me, because I have no recourse without your letters. And peace be upon you both.